Age UK's new report, called The Longest Wait - Our A&E Crisis Demands an Emergency Response, lays bare the 'devastating' impact that corridor care and long A&E waits can have on older people.

The report shows that: 

• 1 in 3 (one third or 32%) of those aged 90 and older are waiting 12 hours or more in A&E to be admitted or discharged home in 2024/25
• The number of instances of ‘corridor care' of 12 hours or more has increased 525-fold since 2015/16
• Between 2019/20 and 2024/25 the number of attendances to A&E that resulted in a 12-hour wait for a bed increased by nearly 2000%
• Last year, 532,451 people experienced corridor care of 12 hours or more.

 In addition, the report reveals that 35% of ethnic minority people aged 50+ experienced NHS care delivered in corridors, compared to 22% of white people the same age.

Meanwhile, 30% of people aged 50+ with a long-term health condition has experienced corridor care themselves, compared to 18% of those without.

The report also finds that 34% of carers aged 50+ have experienced corridor care themselves, compared to 20% of those who are not carers.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director, said: ‘What's happening to some very ill older people when they come to A&E is a crisis hiding in plain sight which the Government must face up to and take immediate action to resolve. No one should have to spend their final days in a hospital corridor where it's impossible for the staff to provide good, compassionate care, and it's truly shocking that this is what is happening to some very old people in some hospitals, today and every day. And as we head into winter, we fear that an already very difficult situation in and around some A&Es will get even worse.' 

She added: ‘The good news is that these problems can be tackled and solved - some hospitals have the problem of long waits and corridor care under control. There's a lot that hospitals themselves can do to improve the situation in their A&Es, but what's most needed now is for Government to step up, show determined leadership and use all the levers at its disposal – including targets, inspection and funding – to bring this crisis, which is disproportionately hurting our oldest old, to an end.'

Age UK is calling for the Government to implement a package of measures, including:  

• Urgently produce a funded operational plan to reduce the incidence of long A&E waits and end corridor care, with specific deadlines and milestones
• Establish a robust system to collect and publish regular data on corridor care (as well as long A&E waits), and their impacts on the public, including by age and ethnicity
• Appoint a minister in the DHSC to be accountable for reducing long A&E waits and ending corridor care and require them to report on progress to Parliament every six months
• Turbo-charge a peer learning programme for hospitals and ICB to share proven solutions, tackle barriers to discharge and protect and support NHS staff
• Work at pace to implement the 10-Year Health Plan, especially the ‘hospital to home' shift and creation of a Neighbourhood Health Service, ensuring social care and the VCSFE are fully played in – so fewer older people need to come to A&E in the first place.   

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Daniel Elkeles, chief executive, NHS Providers, said: ‘Nobody in the NHS wants to see ‘corridor care' become ‘business as usual'

‘Age UK's examples are shocking.  Elderly people should be in hospital only if that's the best place for them to be cared for. Lots of elderly patients can be cared for at or closer to home but to do this means we must get on as quickly as possible with the shift to community set out in the government's 10-year plan.

‘Staff in under-pressure services, especially busy A&Es, face huge demand for beds and work very hard to prevent 'corridor care' all year round. They do all they can in tough conditions to treat patients of all ages and backgrounds in the right places but there are times when stretched NHS trusts are forced to provide care outside wards, having exhausted all options.

‘Our new report shows how urgent investment in NHS buildings and equipment is needed to improve capacity.'

Responding to the launch of Age UK's report ‘The Longest Wait – Our A&E Crisis Demands an Emergency Response', Rory Deighton, acute and community director at the NHS Confederation, said: ‘This report reveals the worsening crisis of corridor care and long A&E waits in the NHS. The impact it has on older people is deeply worrying, especially as we head into another tough winter.

‘Rising demand, delays in discharge and poor flow through hospitals have created bottlenecks in A&Es up and down the country. These long waits risk harming the health of patients, their families, and staff alike. Patients who are well enough to leave hospital often lack the support they need to do so – delaying admissions to A&E and forcing staff to treat patients in unsuitable spaces like corridors.

‘Despite the hard work of health leaders and their teams, very difficult decisions over the best way to manage this are having to be made, with corridor care a last resort.

‘We need viable alternatives to emergency care for some patients – including better access to GPs, walk-in centres, and local support for falls and frailty. Specialist respiratory hubs, managed by primary care, or minor injuries units, could also help manage A&E demand. Older patients especially should also benefit from neighbourhood services like Urgent Community Response and expanded primary care options such as Pharmacy First.'